1) Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you and what do you do in the world of comics?
I'm Russ Leach and I'm an illustrator living in the UK. I create story boards and sequential art for producers, tech companies and publishers.
Specifically in the comic book related publishing industry the most recogniseable names I've worked for are Marvel, DC, Panini, Markosia, BBC, Cartoon Network and Hachette. I suppose I'm most closely associated with Dr Who but I've also worked on well known IPs such as Ben 10 and Batman. I still work with multiple Indy publishers such as Unstoppable Comics and Arrow Comics and also have my own graphic novel series "Only Death Can Save Us".
2) How did you get into comics creation?
I had been in publishing and production since I left college in the late 80s. Since then I managed to art direct and code my way through a career but decided in 2010 I should go back to my first love of comics. I'd had a positive response in the mid 90s from Marvel and Image but things just didn't get off the ground for me back then. When I returned to the industry I had capital and business experience under my belt which helped me make some crucial decisions. I picked up low paid work and started what could really only be described as my apprenticeship in comics. Grabbing projects wherever I could I ended up working with Jason Quinn purely by chance and in 2015 he became an editor at Panini and offered me my first pro gig on Dr Who Adventures Magazine.
3) What is the hardest part about making comics right now?
I think we can break that down into two parts. The first would be physically making comics and i think that with the rise of increasingly useful digital tools and the advances made in traditional tools its never been easier to make comics. The second would be the business of making comics which in my view is in an awful state. Finding publishers willing to take chances on new IPs or attempting to get onto mainstream editor's production lists is harder than its ever been. The balance to this is the explosion in the indie scene but of course that comes with its own pitfalls as well as enormous potential wins.
4) What makes indie comics so important to the survival of the comic industry?
As I inferred in my last answer the mainstream comic industry suffers not only from being the cliche of the 'huge ship that cannot turn quickly' but also from cliques within cliques that effectively gatekeep mainstream production. Of course its not impossible to gain access to these working groups but the effort and reward ratio seems to get lower and lower every year. Counterbalancing that with the advances in communication and technology within printing, publishing and self marketing is an exploding indie market set to the backdrop of huge corporates flogging their IPs to death and failing to muster the courage to create or even buy into new ideas. What made comics great was the belief, whether financial or creative, from the publishers themselves in the medium. We have now lost that in the mainstream industry with many creative teams simply passing through on their way to Hollywood or something similar. However, the indie scene is full of storytellers who are making comics for the sake of making comics which is to say their readers are the most important thing in the process, making indie comics is not only the purest form of the medium but also its future.
5) The end goal for most comics people used to be to get to the mainstream, the big two. We've seen some creators have major success in the indies, do you think the end goal for creators has changed?
Yes but not for everyone. The mainstream is not going away. There will always be huge corporations that own popular IP that they will drop into comics. That means that there is likely to be a job market or freelance market for these publications, but with the advent of AI I see that shrinking. I personally want to see new ideas and new characters written and drawn by people not machines and I think that there will always be a market that mirrors that feeling and that is where most creators are now heading as the mainstream market shrinks.
6) If you had to give one piece of advice to new creators, what would that be?
I will give you two. 1, if you are an artist be yourself. Have your own style. 2, artist or writer, if you are not in it for the love of it, the money won't follow. If you want a career with a guaranteed paycheck get into games.
7) How have comic cons and comic stores changed since you started in the industry? Do you feel that going to cons is still worth it?
To be honest, I have not been to that many conventions. I would say financially they tend not to be particularly worthwhile and from a networking perspective, even though I've bumped into a fair list of well known names and publishers, it's never resulted in any substantial productive activity. If conventions move back to being purely about comics and not celebrity petting zoos, which is possible if indie makes the moves I think it could, then I would be keen to go back to conventions as an artist or with a publisher.
8) How would you say the UK indie comic scene compares to the US scene?
I will be honest, I don't know an awful lot about the UK indie scene. Back in the 90s I did some black and white indie comics but haven't really bumped up against it since. I can say that the US indie scene is vibrant and something that I have been heavily involved with.
9) Are there any challenges that new creators might face now that you didn't encounter yourself when you started?
Yes, I would say the most prominent would be the advent of AI. There will always will be normies out there that will suck up any slop served to them and not care what made it. In fairness, if the story is entertaining I can appreciate that approach. But to be honest technical issues should not be something that stops a creative from telling stories. Also breaking into comics or having a career in comics is different for everyone and evolves with time as well as industry changes so it is difficult to pick out specifics.
10) How easy is it to get press coverage of comic book projects now? Has it gotten better or worse to do?
I cant tell you if it has gotten worse as I haven't really engaged with comic book journalism an awful lot. I can tell you that its next to impossible to get any kid of coverage that is useful. That said, I can shout out two excellent sites that have reported on my work which are BleedingFool.com and DowntheTubes.net, both run by great people.
11) Where can people find you if they want to support you?
They can get all my social media connections, merch and books from russleach.com and they can see me in action on the comicbookblackbelt and Indie Comics Network youtube channels.